I was extremely curious about the premise of this book - and the story was a compelling on, with some characters I liked very much... but I found many of the gory, violent and evil details used far from judiciously. While I don't mind reading about grotesque and distasteful details that move a story along, it almost felt like a Hoollywood blockbuster at times - too much, to quickly. I think it would have been more effective to imply more and leave some things up to the imagination(especially when dealing with the deaths of the young girl's schoolmates - and their twisted family lives). I felt like the theology was inconsistent and ambiguous- sort of a quasi-Catholic spirituality - and would have appreciated a more complex, genuine treatment of the supernatural (meaning how the characters each reacted to all these incredible occurances, rather than simply accepting them, as it felt like they did). I enjoyed the dog characters very much - I think they were the most complex characters, which, come to think of it, makes sense of the way many of the human characters were written. The inter-species relationships and interactions were enjoyable to read - I think I would have liked to see much more of these characters rather than spending so much time with the comparatively flat humans. One big exception: the leader of the girl coven. I felt like I could relate to, despise and feel compassion for her all at the same time.

Overall, not something I'd recommend to many. I hope the author continues to explore the animal world. I was entertained immensely by that portion. I also hope that in the sequel to this one (there was a short excerpt/ad for it in the back) there will be less grabbing you by the neck to force you to look at the grotesque actions and consequences of evil, and would rather inspire us to shudder with horror at what we can only imagine happening. ( )

It's clear the author loves dogs, and it's a very sweet sentiment, to love your pets so much that you feel inspired to write a fantasy novel with a dog as a hero.

However, this is a book that should have gone through several more re-writes before being allowed to see the light of day. There were inconsistencies galore, and it got very preachy at times. Character motivation was nigh impossible to understand, despite the overabundance of description.

I felt obliged to finish the book because I got it as part of the Early Reviewers program, but I really wish I hadn't bothered to read it. It really felt like a waste of my time. ( )

This book was a conflicting read. One one hand, as an animal lover, I greatly enjoyed the fact that the hero/protagonist of the book is an animal, in this case, a dog. I found myself absorbed in the story & found the story to be entertaining. On the other hand, the lack of consistency in the story line and the typos found throughout the book detracted from the experience. The book does need more work when it comes to editing and rewriting some of the passages to make the story flow more coherently and smoothly. I'd say this is a read-at-your-own risk. If you're very picky about punctuation & correct writing, steer clear. If you're just looking to read a story that is entertaining, animal loving, and deals with the occult, then this might be the book for you. ( )

A very, very, strange but surprising funny book with a lot of things needing work.
Are you sitting comfortably, then I shall begin (in no particular order)
1)Heavy handed use of capitals with a lot of SHOUTING and whispering often on the same page
2)Very gory with lots of gratuitous violence, of the throw everything you can think of at the story even if it was blood for bloods sake. An example , a family is horribly and nastily tortured and murdered - ok adds to plot but the killer found the two sons raping the daughter (I kid not (or maybe Not)), why?
3) Prissy and odd use of language, in a book about dogs written by 'doggy' people you would expect a bitch to be called a bitch but no she is a female dog and bitch or again BITCH is reserved for people (along with the C and F words) and don't start me on foxes, oh fine, I will then. Why is the female fox not called a vixen like what she should be and how have her cubs become kits?
4) Lots of Deux et machina plot devices seems like every other page.
There are more but that is enough.
Having said all this there is a germ of a very funny comic fantasy book in there if the grammar and formatting was tidied up , the gore reduced and the swearing more restrained.
Or maybe not. ( )

I requested this book through the early reveiwer system because the premise sounded interesting. I hate to repeat what other reviewers have said, but the page formatting errors were distracting, and the spelling errors made me yell at the book a few times (ThAn, not thEn! spinal cord, not chord!). And the stupid mistakes (like someone being able to push a power wheelchair and name mixups) really annoyed me.

These things can all be fixed with a decent editor.

The biggest problem I had was with the parts that can't be fixed by simple copyediting.

Why would an author go to so much trouble to build a nice, rich, complex character, then have them act completely outside their normal behavior just to advance the plot? Clancy's death is a prime example. Yes, the way in which the other characters react to it is very nicely done. But why would someone shown to have deep common sense run past his gun without grabbing it to go investigate all hell breaking loose? And the author had to tell us that he decided to go without it! Sloppy story building.

Another example is something most writers learn in their very first workshop/class/seminar that they ever take: show us, don't tell us. The prologue especially was very pedantic, telling us this and that with no real meat. The backstory of the characters was this way as well. Work the information into the plot as part of the action, rather than as a boring recitation of facts.

I did appreciate the changes by chapter of viewpoint, except when she changed who's head we were inside in mid-chapter without warning. It made for some confusion while I re-read bits to try and figure out who was thinking what.

Despite all these problems, I did get into the story. There were very compelling passages, and some bits were good enough to keep me up late reading. I very much liked and understood most of the characters. (Of course, when the did something out of character, that made it all the more jarring.)

I finally had to put the book down, though, when John's research buddy Matt started listing off all the terrible things that had happened in the town. Pu-lease! If you had ever heard of a place with that much death and dismemberment going on, would you live there? NOT! I'm afraid even I could not suspend my disbelief that not only would the locals stay, but outsiders move to such a gruesome place.

Dear Ms. Syers, please take this book back to the drawing board and re-write it. It's worth rewriting, because you have some good ideas and some great characters there. Take it with you to workshops and get some good constructive criticism from you peers. This story has great potential, but at this stage it's just a hunk of unpolished rock, with only glints to show you the true gem it could be. ( )